BaldBil's Scotch & Cigar's Night!!!

This coming Thursday, August 5th is the date for the 4th Annual BaldBil Scotch & Cigar's Night. It will be hosted by my good friend Clayton Green. Clayton is a member of the Salem YMCA Board of Directors and is gracious enough to allow me to use his expansive back yard for this event. We will have a fine selection of blended and single-malt Scotch whiskies for guests to sample provided by Quality Liquors of Salem and Kappy's of Peabody. Mike Allen of the Red Lion Smoke Shop on Washington Street in Salem is providing the cigars. Mike will also speak briefly on his choice of cigars and will answer any questions you may have. He has traveled to the source on a few occasions and and has an extensive body of knowledge on the subject. Last year he explained why some cigars are somewhat square in shape. Clayton will prepare some caribbean cuisine. He makes a great hot sauce that is both spicy and full of flavor.

Of the two YMCA fundraisers that I hold each year this is my favorite. You are guaranteed to meet a great and interesting group of local characters and raconteurs.

The Salem YMCA provides many opportunities for the kid's of our fair city to participate in educational and productive activities which assist them in their attempts to become good honest members of society. I have had the pleasure and privilege to see and experience this first hand. Their is no cause closer to my heart than this one. Their services range from pre-school and day care to teen programs. We all at one time or another in our lives have been a part of the problem, this is a small chance for you and I to be a part of the solution.

I look forward to seeing old friends and to meeting some new friends at this event as we sit and socialize with Clayton for a great and worthwhile cause.

See you there!

What's In A Name

One day quite a while back I walked into the Lobster Shanty in Salem. I had become somewhat of a regular there. Most days after work you could find me there drinking a couple of beers or having some dinner. The Shanty was a different place back then. It and Salem have changed a lot. Some of the changes are for the better and some are not.

This particular fall day I discovered that they had $2 squares for Monday Night Football. Bobby Gauthier, the bartender ( he now works at the 99 on Bridge St.) gave me the grid. Looking at it closely I noticed that there were already a few Bill's of various types with their names in the boxes.

There was Bill Kelly, who owned the place, Bill Stone, an everyday scotch and milk (yes that's right scotch and MILK) drinker, Cowboy Bill, a wandering Kentucky rebel and of course the well known Billy-Willy. I couldn't just put "Bil" in the square. That would be boring. Thinking quickly I wrote "BaldBil" in three squares and gave Bobby my $6. He took the money, looked at the grid and laughed.

"BaldBil! You're stuck with it now!"

And I was. Little did I know at the time that it would become my name over all others.

As a kid I had always wanted a nickname. I grew up with a kid called Chunky, one we called Dooba and another one known as Hacky. No nickname ever stuck to me though. One kid used to call me "Bade" for some reason, but it never caught on. My red hair inspired no colorful monickers despite my father being known as the 'Red Dog" and my Uncle being referred to as "Little Red". I was Billy and that was that.

The Air Force provided me with my first nickname. In the barracks in Japan one night while watching some garbage on the AFN (Armed Forces Network) the boys noticed an actor by the name of Lance Legault. He was always a bad guy and often times would end up being beat up or killed. With a deep baritone and hawkish looks he fit the bad guy roles well. At that very moment I became known as "Lance." It did not end there.

We were Security Policemen. After a few incidents both on and off duty some of the guys began to call me "Gonads." That was a reference to a couple of different times where I did some crazy things. I was also told it was a result of a someone commenting on something a little more personal. There is not a lot of privacy in the military. The two names soon morphed in "Lance LeGonads." To this day if hear "Hey Lance" or Hi ya Gonads" I will know it is someone I knew in Japan speaking to me.

The Army was a different story. I was older, an NCO and was pretty much all business. Any names I may have acquired were uttered out of earshot.

Spending seven years in Lawrence, MA proved to a unique and life altering experience. As I look back it is a wonder that I wasn't killed. There were a few moments where it could have and perhaps should have happened. I worked as a machinist and on the side as a bouncer at some local clubs. Did the door and floor at the Claddagh for a while and also at the Loft and Ladle. They were both on Essex St at the time. I also worked at two different Spanish clubs. The Associacion Civica and Los Tartoros. Both places were a mix of Dominicans and Puerto Ricans. These guys called me "Toro Pequeno" for Little Bull and also "El Calvo". The latter is what inspired my using BaldBil on the Shanty football squares.

What's in a name? Whatever you want I suppose.

Front Street Coffee Shop

This was written on a warm day in March.

Front Street Coffee Shop

Sitting at Front Street Coffee

sipping tea and reading papers.

People come and then they go

while I sip, read and watch.

Lawyers, bankers young and old

order coffee espresso and bagels.

Kids on bikes and skateboards

in a search for that caffeine blast.

Behind the counter is Colleen

small and Irish in every way.

Sweet and blonde, slight and sexy

a passion for music in her blood.

Some days Amber is on the pour

taller with subtle curves sultry eyes

Her clothing unique and personal

reflect a free and soaring spirit.

Men and women enter and leave

a constant flow of the Salem essence.

Sipping tea and reading papers

sitting at Front Street Coffee.

GRANITE MEMORIES

This is new this year. In truth it is still a work in progress. I recently moved and there is a large cemetery close by. I have taken some walks and runs around it. The other night I woke up at 3am and couldn't get back to sleep so I climbed the fence and took a walk in the dark. An interesting experience.

GRANITE MEMORIES

Small rolling hills and narrow roads,

shrubs, shade tress and flower beds

 lead visitors to their destinations

in front of a carved piece of stoic granite.

They sit amongst many other stones,

cold and hard with letters chiseled

as short and enduring testament

of person passed and deeds of life.

Towards each stone a path does wind

to a symbol placed by living for dead

where the shrubs and trees live and breath

from shared soil beneath carved granite.

Shrubs do flower and trees grow tall,

as the stone stays cold and damp

sharing sun and shade and rain and cold

as life lords a perpetual cycle over death.

Visitors muse and reflect in silent pose,

under the trees and beside the shrubs

standing over memories preserved in granite

serving only those who live and remember.

Small rolling hills and narrow roads,

shrubs shade trees and flower beds

all lead visitors to their destinations

in front of a carved piece of cherished memory.